Pet Shop Boys - The sound of the atom splitting

"The Sound Of The Atom Splitting" was created on the spot as a compliment to the a-side of the single "Left To My Own Devices", specifically the line "Debussy to a disco beat".

Trevor Horn provided the inspiration for the line, so they took the best part of an hour and used the drum pattern from 'Left To My Own Devices' with Neil playing Debussy-esque chords over top of the chaos. The vocals were added later, and were inspired by a line from a film by Derek Jarman called "The Last of England": "A man says, 'What's that sound? It's the sound of the atom splitting'.

Neil Tennant: "I thought, 'That's a good line'. I thought the sound of the atom splitting was the sound of a nuclear explosion; the sound of the end of the world...The lyric is a dialogue between a fascist and a wet liberal. The right wing person is rather amused by the liberal because he's obviously so feeble he's never going to do anything."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• pet
• shop
• boys
• sound
• atom
• splitting
• acid
• house
• electronic
• dance
• synth
• pop

[FranklyMisterShankly]

"I hate you, I hate you, nothing will ever be the same...."

[FarrokhMercury]

Wow. This is really different...

[pharao707]

i'd h8 this 2 b the last sound i hear in my life ))) this is just crap! i'd rather hear a real atom splitting!

[sflachuck]

This video would have been amazing had the lyrics popped up on screen...

[lesscunning]

completely brilliant. i'd only known them for "West End Girls" as a child...

[monteoner]

hahaha found this on a cassette we found in a charity shop because all our ipods had ran out of batteries

[3kliksphilip]

Kill it. KILL IT

[gillsoriano]

My favorite from the PSB!

[karaloca]

Often unknown or ignored. But listen to it - this has to be one of their finest moments.

Roland 303 Acid Goodness!

[PSBelectronica]

Odd PSB track,but its music is very good and I love Neil's accent here!

[sarahlouisev]

I remember that concert very well!